Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti was so committed to his political beliefs that he created his own republic and declared its independence from the state. An advocate of Black Power, Kuti called his style of music Afrobeat. Rejecting his slave middle name, Ransome, he renamed himself Fela Anikulapo Kuti, with his middle name translating as he who carries death in his pouch. After releasing his 1977 album Zombie, which called out the thuggish Nigerian military, the bandleaders commune, the Kalakuta Republic, was attacked by a thousand soldiers. Kutis complex was burned, the leader and his colleagues were beaten, and Felas mother was thrown from a window, sustaining fatal injuries. The singers response was to deliver her casket to the generals barracks in Lagos. One of his subsequent albums was called Coffin for Head of State. youtu.be/Q021-VyLzpk Read more: rollingstone/music/lists/15-rock-roll-rebels-20130603#ixzz3P1i5Nf9a Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 22:36:33 +0000
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